To Burn
by silkplants
Summary: Alfred is a demon who wants to see Heaven. Arthur is a resident of the place. Sparks may not fly between the two of them, but they definitely have the burn marks. / USUK. Angel/Demon AU. Sort of Sweet Devil but not really?


Alfred wanted a glimpse of heaven. Just a taste would satisfy him, he was sure. The demon had seen all he could bear to see of hell, the place got boring anyways. There wasn't much variety to it, and the screaming souls of the damned were more an annoyance than anything.

So, Alfred decided he deserved a little vacation. He'd have to come back at some point, but Alfred decided a little time away wouldn't cause any trouble. He'd wanted to see heaven ever since he'd become a demon. One couldn't help being curious about something like that. He stretched out his long, leathery wings, and flew up.

Hell was a hard place to leave, and exhausting to try and fly straight out of. There were passages and secret exits somewhere, Alfred was sure. Too bad he wasn't sure quite where. He flapped his wings, and grit his teeth as he began to grow fatigued.

He had almost given out when he reached the exit. He made a few more desperate flails, grabbing onto the edge of the entrance and digging his nails into the rock. Alfred took a deep breath, then pulled himself out.

The now exhausted demon rolled onto his back and stared up. He could see the entrance to earth, and then the white space that separated hell and earth from heaven. It seemed to go on forever, and Alfred groaned, covering his eyes with his arm. Heaven. Why'd it have to be so far away? What, was it too good to be down here with everyone else? The answer was yes. Of course it was, it was supposed to the perfect place. Alfred had his doubts, but, demons were skeptical creatures anyways.

He picked himself up after a bit, and took a breath. "Not that far now. Just straight up, that's what you've been doing all day anyways." Alfred murmured to himself, getting up and brushing off his clothes. He took to the sky.

The space between heaven and hell was immensely harder to fly through. He thought hell was a hard place to get out of, heaven was even harder to get into. He glanced up, and for the first time he could see something.

The sight of heaven reinvigorated his determination, and he kept at it, gaining height. He reached a marble column. It wasn't holding anything up, and Alfred supposed it was just for decoration. The demon held on to it, and then made jump from there to the outside of heaven's fence. Alfred wasn't sure if the pearly gates were a real thing or not, but if they were, they certainly weren't anywhere around here. Guess he was only watching from the outside today.

A flash of movement caught his eye, and Alfred ducked down, hiding from view. Alfred's gaze fell upon what had moved, and his eyes widened.

He'd never seen an angel in the flesh. He'd seen their glow, and fought them himself, but he had never seen an angel at peace and without it's armor. It's- no, his, tunic fluttered just above his knees. His hair looked like it had been spun out of pure gold. The angel's skin was clear and unblemished, his eyes greener than any of the forests Alfred had seen. Alfred was sure that this angel was perfection in every sense of the word.

Alfred crouched low, now quite interested in whatever the angel was doing. The angel was walking along the fence, and would sometimes start to check something, only to give a curt nod and continue walking. He was within Alfred's reach. Alfred couldn't pass up a chance to just touch something so perfect. He reached through the fence, and his fingertips brushed against his leg.

They both screamed. The angel jumped back, wings fluttering behind him, and Alfred nearly fell from heaven. When he stood, he could only stare.

He had left a mark on such a work of art. He felt shame. Maybe he should be happy, no demon he had ever known of had seen an angel without it's armor, much less touched one. But the mark Alfred left was red, and the angel seemed to be in pain, so Alfred said the first thing that came to mind.

"I'm sorry."

"Damn right you're sorry!" The angel shouted, and Alfred's veil of perfection shattered.

The demon frowned, and crossed his arms. "You aren't the only one who's hurt, y'know!"

The angel seemed rather pissed, despite Alfred's exclamation. "You're the one who touched me.." Behind his anger, however, there was a small spark of curiosity. "How did you even get up here? I thought demons couldn't fly all the way without getting tired."

Alfred gave a bitter laugh. "Oh, I'm tired, all right. Think you could do me a favor and kick me out of here after I've rested a while?"

The angel seemed to be in no mood to do that, but Alfred spoke again before he could make too much of a fuss.

"I'll stay out here, promise. Tell me your name."

The angel frowned, and sat cross-legged on the other side of the fence. "...Arthur. As long as you stay on that side of the fence, I will allow you time to rest so that you can fly back where you came from. I won't be responsible for you, it wouldn't look good outside of a battle."

Alfred smiled at Arthur, giving a little thumbs-up. "Thanks a lot, Art."

Arthur rolled his eyes, but nodded. "..Right.."

As time passed, Arthur and Alfred struck up conversation. While Arthur was skeptical and hesitant, he still spoke with him, comparing their lives and asking questions. When Alfred could finally be convinced to leave, Arthur cleared his throat.

"I'm not allowed to let anyone into heaven, but, if you stay on that side of the fence, I shall allow you to come back tomorrow. I'll be here."

Alfred showed him a bright grin, and nodded. "Tomorrow." He stepped off the cloud, and plummeted towards hell, stretching his wings out to slow his fall. The ride down was much, much easier than the struggle to fly up.

He came back the next day, as promised, and waited for Arthur to arrive, sitting cross-legged on the ground. He waved to the angel as he went past, calling for his attention. "Arthur!" He called, smiling. "Hey!"

Arthur frowned and crossed his arms. "Hello, again. Don't think this is going to become a regular event, this is the last time I'm letting you up here. I was only curious before, but, after today that will be satisfied."

Alfred frowned, allowing his wings to droop dramatically. "Awh..hey, can you do me a favor? I want..I want to touch you again. To see if it still hurts." He extended his arm through the fence, but Arthur seemed hesitant.

"But-" Arthur sighed, and brushed his fingertips. They both yanked their arms back in pain, looking down. "Fuck, that's awful-" Arthur complained, holding his hand in front of him to look it over. Alfred nodded in agreement, opening and closing his fist.

"Don't ask me to do that again." Arthur frowned, glaring at him. Alfred could only nod, still in immense pain. Still, at the end of the day, Arthur allowed him to come back once more.

Every day Alfred would come back, and each day, Arthur would say it was the last time. But just before Alfred would leave, Arthur would clear his throat, look up at him, and invite him back. Alfred would grin, and promise to return.

Alfred began to notice little things about Arthur and his personality. The way he walked, and sat, and how he'd cock his head to the side if he was about to prove something. For an angel, he had a lot of pride.

Alfred and Arthur kept their meetings going for far too long. They both knew, but neither of them said anything. They had both grown too attached to the other to just say goodbye. And they both knew it.

"Alfred." Arthur finally said. "..You..really must not come back here anymore. It isn't safe for either of us. It's been almost a year of earth time-" He started, but Alfred cut him off, giving him a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Artie, come on, it's okay. No one is gonna catch us, we'll be fine. And you don't actually want me to leave, right? We're friends.."

"I know we are, Al, but I can't put myself or you in danger anymore. I'm going to go. I'm not coming back." Arthur stood, and turned away, starting to walk.

In a moment of desperation, Alfred lurched forwards, grabbing Arthur's wrist, and his ankle. Arthur shrieked in pain, and pulled away, Alfred pulling his own hands back as well.

"Shit, Art- Arthur, I'm sorry-." Alfred started, eyes widening. "I didn't-" But Arthur had already run off.

He didn't come back. Not that day, nor the next, nor any of the days after. Alfred spent every moment up there, staring through the fence for any sign of him. He had to go back to hell at some point, but he was pushing his time limit. He couldn't bear the thought of going back, though, not without at least saying goodbye. But he was running out of time.

Alfred was sure demons were coming up to get him. It would be a long flight, but he had spent too much time here. He was about to give up himself, and step down, when he heard light footsteps behind him. He turned, and there was Arthur, rubbing his arms and staring at his feet. Alfred couldn't stop the apologies from tumbling out of his mouth.

"Arthur! Arthur, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you, I-I shouldn't have touched you and you won't have to worry about me- I never wanted to hurt you! I promise I didn't! I really like you, Arthur, hell, I might even love you-.." Alfred went up to the fence, staring at Arthur with wide, panicked eyes. "I'm running out of time, just, please don't hate me.."

Arthur stared down, quiet for a long moment. "I'm going to come out." He took a breath, and flew up and over the gate. He looked up at Alfred, and then looked around, seeming unsure. He opened his arms, and then gave Alfred a hug. Alfred winced, but then blinked, realizing that it didn't burn. He wrapped his arms around Arthur, giving a gentle squeeze and letting go.

Arthur frowned. "You need out of here. Come with me." He took Alfred by the hand, and began leading him down the fence. They got to a gate, and Arthur pushed it open without difficulty, pulling Alfred inside and shutting the gate behind them. Alfred was in heaven. He'd nearly forgotten that that was what he had wanted to do. Once Arthur had arrived, he hadn't cared much anymore.

Arthur took him to a long, winding staircase. "This..this leads to earth. You should be alright, there." Alfred only nodded, and the angel walked him down the stairs slowly, being very careful where he stepped. Alfred squeezed his hand, following him all the way.

When they arrived at earth, Alfred was overwhelmed. It was much larger than Alfred thought now that he was seeing it on his own, and without a group of demons. "H-hey! You aren't leaving me, right?" He turned, and the angel stopped in his tracks.

"Yes...but I suppose..I'll help you for today."

At the end of the day, Arthur turned to Alfred, taking his hand and smiling faintly. "..I guess I can stay one more day."


End file.
